YET MORE tales of dysfunction in the cathedral close. This time
the dean of Ripon, John Methuen, is at the centre of "calls to resign"
following the departure of several senior staff and reports of "autocratic"
behaviour.

A predictably botched private inquiry into the dean's "management
style" commissioned by John Packer, the bishop of Ripon and Leeds,
has only fuelled the flames. Now there is every prospect of a Lincoln-esque
standoff between the bishop and a dean who refuses to resign.

Dean Methuen is no stranger to controversy. At the height of the Westminster
Abbey organist dispute (Eyes passim), a group of senior congregants
signed an open letter to dean Wesley Carr, challenging him to answer specific
questions about his behaviour. Methuen, with touching loyalty to a fellow
dean but a rather tenuous grasp of the facts, wrote an emotional letter
on Carr's behalf, warning the signatories to back off for "the sake
of their immortal souls". Bishop Packer had better take care!